Marriage Under Special Marriage Act Can Be Registered Through Video-Conferencing : Supreme Court Upholds High Court Judgment

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by the State of Haryana challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order of granting marriage certificate under the Special Marriage Act 1954 through video conferencing due to the wife’s inability to travel from the USA to India on account of travel restrictions. “Law has to march along with technology”, a Division Bench comprising Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice V. Ramasubramanian orally observed. “Special Marriage Act, 1954 was enacted in 1954 whereas whereas the technology of Computer and Internet was introduced in later years. Therefore, the law has to march along with technology. Where there is difficulty, the letter of law cannot be so rigid that it makes it impossible for the parties to follow. Moreover, the registration department is there to facilitate the parties and not to create obstruction or hurdles for the parties”, the bench orally said. The Top Court also directed the Deputy Commissioner- cum-marriage officer to comply with the High Court’s directions within 45 days. In the present matter, the State of Haryana had approached the Apex Court challenging the judgment dated March 9, 2021, delivered by the Division Bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Archana Puri of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh.